Shadow Isles, the Best

The sun was setting in the west.

High in the sky, the moon, like a silver hook, had already quietly hung above the fiery clouds.

Tens of thousands of golden rays of twilight scattered down, casting golden shimmer across the surface of the lake.

A gentle breeze blew, causing layers of ripples to spread across the water.

A few egrets floated on the lake, swimming leisurely and crying out from time to time.

On the treetops, several little birds hopped about, chirping incessantly.

Clusters of blooming flowers displayed a riot of colors, making the scene resemble a hyper-realistic oil painting.

By the artificial lake outside the city, dozens of elderly men and women danced wildly to a rhythmic beat.

On the other side, many tables had been set up, and Yi Feng sat at the central one.

In front of each person stood a large jar of wine, and all sorts of delicacies were carried over by the crowd.

In less than ten minutes, the tables were piled high with an array of food.

On the grass beneath their feet, many empty wine jars were scattered haphazardly.

The crowd toasted each other, clinking glasses and cups, their spirits high.

Within half an hour, the alcohol had gone straight to their heads.

Everyone’s face was flushed, and their excitement was palpable.

Lu Qingshan, staggering with tipsy little steps and burping, wobbled over to Lu Dasheng.

He slapped Lu Dasheng on the shoulder and laughed loudly: “Hahaha, do you guys know about Old Lu’s embarrassing incident back in the day?”

“No, tell us about it!”

The crowd chimed in eagerly, wanting the gossip.

“He, relying on his status as a so-so alchemist, came swaggering into our Green Mountain Sect with his nose in the air. Guess who he tried to act tough around first?”

“Who?”

“Old Lu, just spit it out already!”

“Yeah, stop holding out on us!”

Lu Qingshan said smugly: “I just like seeing you all getting all worked up.”

“Stop it, Old Lu, don’t air my dirty laundry!” Lu Dasheng quickly tried to stop him.

Lu Qingshan pushed Lu Dasheng’s hand away and said, “No, I’m going to say it.”

“Lu Dasheng’s first arrogant act went straight into Skull Lord’s face—talk about kicking a steel plate.”

Lu Dasheng stood up and tried to cover Lu Qingshan’s mouth.

But Lu Qingshan did a dainty little skip and ran off fast.

He recounted the events of that year as he ran.

“You guys don’t know this, but Skull Lord stripped Old Lu bare, and then Old Lu knelt there, slapping himself hard across the face over and over.”

“Back then, I thought Old Lu had lost his mind, thought maybe something had happened to his family.”

“Lu Qingshan, shut your damn mouth!”

Lu Qingshan’s story made Lu Dasheng’s face burn red, and the crowd burst into laughter.

Yi Feng also laughed heartily.

At the time, he had been in the midst of awakening, and he didn’t actually know much about it.

It was all caused by that guy Lu Benwei and his bunch.

Hearing everyone start exposing each other’s secrets and recounting old tales, Yi Feng listened with keen interest.

Even though many stories were repeated, Yi Feng never seemed to tire of these memories.

Then, Wu Yonghong stood up and raised a glass.

“I’ll drink this one first, in honor of the Master and in honor of all you old friends.”

With that, he downed the glass in one gulp.

“Ha! Old Lu’s life has truly been legendary. Back when we first started working for the Master, we were all planting rice seedlings, weeding, and plowing fields for him.”

“But Old Lu had to go and snatch the job of carrying manure, not letting anyone else take it—he worked at it like there was no tomorrow.”

Old Man Wang, leaning on his cane, stood up and chimed in: “And I lent him that manure bucket, and he still hasn’t returned it to me. Lu Dasheng, you owe me a bucket!”

Old Man Wang had forgotten about this matter before.

But today, when Wu Yonghong brought it up, he remembered how Lu Dasheng had borrowed the bucket and never given it back.

“I’ve got plenty of manure buckets; I’ll give you a hundred tomorrow!”

The crowd laughed uproariously again.

Lu Dasheng’s old face turned even redder.

“What’s so funny about carrying manure? I turned manure-carrying into the Dao of Manure—can any of you do that?”

As the target of everyone’s jokes that night, Lu Dasheng struck back fiercely at the crowd.

If the Master weren’t present, he would definitely unleash his Flying Manure Dance to shut these petty folks up.

Just then, a throng of a hundred people, led by Zhong Qing, walked toward the group.

“We pay our respects to the Master.”

“We bow to the Master!”

Seeing Yi Feng again, the hundred people were all ecstatic, their faces glowing with excitement.

Yi Feng nodded, surveying his beloved disciples, and gave them a very kind smile.

“Good to have you back. Find a place to sit.”

The elderly folks at the table all stood up, bowing respectfully to the newcomers.

“You all have worked hard!”

“Welcome back, everyone! Quickly, set up more seats!”

“Prepare wine, to wash the dust off our honored guests!”

“In front of the Master, you don’t need to be so polite. You are all heroes who defended Shadow Island,” Zhong Qing said with a smile.

The other disciples echoed his sentiments.

“And thank you all as well. The reconstruction of Shadow Island is truly beautiful.”

“That’s right—I’ve traveled across many planets, and nothing feels as good as Shadow Island!”

The crowd set up five more large round tables, each capable of seating twenty people.

Lu Qingshan, Wu Yonghong, Lu Dasheng, and the others scurried over quickly.

They brought many jars of wine, handing one to each fellow disciple.

Seeing these few diligent old men, the fellow disciples felt a pang of sadness in their hearts.

Zhong Qing stood up and said self-reproachfully: “We are useless. When we fought the Red Moon, we didn’t contribute at all. While we were still waking up from our awakening, the Master had already destroyed the Red Moon…”

“Yes, it’s all because we haven’t trained hard enough in our daily lives. We must apologize to the Master and to everyone on Shadow Island,” Su Yunyun added, standing up.

Chi Yitong stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs: “We’re sorry, Master—we’ve failed your teachings…”

Yi Feng shook his head with a wry smile and raised his hand, motioning for everyone to sit down.

He said with a faint smile: “How can you say you’re useless? In that battle a hundred thousand years ago, you faced the Red Moon’s clone and were forced into reincarnation. If not for your sacrifice back then, how could I have solved the problem so smoothly?”

“Don’t sell yourselves short. Everything is in the past now. You are all my good disciples.”

Yi Feng spoke with unusual seriousness.

The destruction of the Red Moon looked smooth, but every link in the chain had been crucial.

It was only because of the meticulous planning of every detail that the Red Sun was so easily wiped out, bringing about the peace of today.

Hearing this, a warm current surged in everyone’s hearts.

The Master was still so approachable.

Yi Feng’s words might have seemed plain, but they quietly erased the guilt in their hearts.

“Thank you, Master!”

“Long live the Master!”

“Master, your outfit today is really handsome!”

Yi Feng smiled faintly, his eyes full of affection as he looked at his children.

His gaze shifted and landed on Wu Tian, who sat beside Hong Fengkuang.

“Little Rooster.”

Wu Tian shot up as if struck by lightning.

“Little Rooster here!”

He stepped out from the table, trotted over to Yi Feng, and stood before him nervously.